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The Abuja Affirmation: A Global Definition of Anglican Identity

March 17th, 2026 | 8 min read

By Adam Carrington

If you spend time in Anglican circles, you eventually will hear a number of claims about us. You will hear that we are neither Protestant nor Roman Catholic but a via media between them (with some throwing in a pinch or more of Eastern Orthodoxy as well). You will hear that we are not confessional. In fact, you might hear that we have no theology distinctly our own. You will be told that our unity resides in one or both of the following: liturgy alone as found in the Prayer Book tradition; or structure—the international “instruments of union” consisting of England’s Archbishop of Canterbury, the once-a-decade Lambeth Conference, the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC), and the Primates’ Meeting of the leading clergypersons of every Anglican province.

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Adam Carrington

Adam Carrington is the Associate Professor, Archer Endowed Position in History & Political Science and Co-Director of the Ashbrook Center at Ashland University.